Study on Santals

8/3/2019 Study on Santals

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Village Deities of the Santal and Associated Rituals

Author(s): V. K. KocharReviewed work(s):Source: Anthropos, Bd. 61, H. 1./2. (1966), pp. 241-257Published by: Anthropos InstituteStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40458237 .

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VillageDeitiesof theSantal ndAssociated itualsByV. K. Kochar

ContentsIntroduction1. Ritual n theSacredGrove2. TheJaher eitiesMarang-BuruMoreko-TuruikoJaher-EraGosaen-Era3. Other illage eitiesManjhi-Haram-Bongaargna- ongSima-BongaBahre-Bonga4. Nature fVillage eities

IntroductionThe Santal1believe hat the world s inhabited y a largenumber fspiritual eingsof variouskinds, alledbonga, omeof whom re directlyconnected ith he welfare fparticular ersons rgroups. he Santalhaveveryvaguenotions bout the individualitiesfthe supernaturaleingsorbonga.One ofthemainreasons or his s that their elationshipith hese

supernaturaleings, xcept hesupreme eingThakur, re shroudedwithfeelingftaboo,mystery,ecrecyndfear.The SantalofthevillageKuapara2,as elsewhereu,e the termbonga* Thepaper s baseduponauthor'sargerwork n Santalsocial structurendreligionor h. D. degreet Lucknow niversity.1Thanks o theworks yRev.P. O. Bodding ndothermissionaries,heSantalareoneof hebestknownribesfChotanagpur,ihar. hey rerelatedo other ustricspeakingribes fthearea,viz.Munda,Ho, Birhor, haria, tc.The Santalarenowdistributedver vastarea nBengal ndBihar.Forgeneralccount fthetribe eeCulshaw1949.2 Thefieldwork, n thebasisofwhich hispaper s prepared, as conducted

Anthropos1. 1966 16


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242 V. . KOCHAR Anthropos1. 1966indiscriminatelyor hevarious ategoriesf piritual eings the reator,he"downright"vilspiritshathover bout in thehabitat,ndividual utilaryspirits,piritdoubles,ghosts, pirits fthedeceasedrelatives,witches ndevenHindudeities.Anykind fnon-corporal,thereal eingmaybe referredto as bonga.The cognate ribesof Chotanagpurrea, Bihar (viz. Birhor,Munda,Ho, Kharia)have similar sage.Thisusagehas lead someto believe hatall bonga esignatesremani-festations f a single, ll pervading,ourceofenergy r power Roy1925;Majumdar1942,1950). Somebelieve thatbongado not have any personalattributesRisley, p. 352). On the otherhand some believethat thebongaarehighly ersonateCulshaw 1939)and are essentiallyvilagenciesBod-ding1925: II). My enquiries ave ledmeto doubttheseopinionso far stheSantalareconcerned.

The Santaldo not talkaboutbonga venamong hemselves. onga ngeneral renot a subject f discussion r theorizationmong he Santal.Thenamesofbonga,he ritual rocedures,ncantations,nd thematerial ids usedfor acrifice,hesacrificial eal and itsconsumption,he sacred ltar than)ofthe deities all these recharged ithmagical ignificance.foundtverydifficulto collectdetails bout thebonga s any query bout thesemattersmade even the best informantseep silent.This unwillingnessmerges smuchfrom ear s fromhe factthattheirknowledgen thesematters,n-cludinghatof thepriests,s veryvagueanduncrystallized.The Santalmaintain arying inds nddegrees frelationshipith hesebonga: omebonga re worshipped y each familyn its sacred enclosure(bhitri),thers ythevillagepriestn thesacredgrove jaher), omeof themareworshippedy otherpersons uch as theassistant riestkudum-naeki)theheadman fthevillagemanjhi) r themagician-cum-medicine-manojha),andotherst definiteccasionsntheyearlyycle rcasuallywhen ecessary.Worship ereafters used nspecial ensepeculiar otheSantalconnotingheritual ctsassociatedwith hepropitiationfthebonga.I shalldescribe elow a definiteroup fbonga ssociatedwithvillagecommunitys a whole. omeof hese, ommonothewhole ribe,redescribedhere s jaher-bonga.thers,ocalized piritualntities,re describeds "othervillagedeities".

Aswillbe shown elow, achvillagedeity s endowedwith ome ndi-vidual haracteristicshichmarktfromheother onga. uchdistinguishingfeatures renotverbalized ythe Santalbut areimplicitn their ehaviourwith espectothedifferentonga,nd haveto be inferredromt.duringheperiod 958-60n thevillageKuaparanearSantiniketannMauzaSurul fSurisubdivision fdistrict irbhum,W.Bengal, ndia. Forgeneral etails bout thevillage eeKochar 1964 .3 I havedescribedertain onga s "deities". here re numerousonga utallarenotdeities. f hese ew re ssigned pecificbodes nd areworshippedt scheduledoccasions na scheduled anner. ongawithwhom heSantalmaintainuch tructuredorformalizedelationshipavebeen ermed ere deities". heterm s applied ere oesnotnecessarilynvolventhropomorphism,antheisticerivationrdevineness.


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Village eities ftheSantal ndAssociated ituals 2431. Ritual in the SacredGrove

Jaher-thanor ohor-than)s a sacredgroveneareverySantal villagewherehevillage riestnaeki) fferseriodicacrificeso theprincipal eitiesofthe Santalpantheon.ome sal andmahua4trees re eftunclearedt thetime f ettingf hevillage ndaremade abodesof hebonga. omeplasteredspace,oftenwith smallpieceof stoneor a little aisedplatformt thefootofthese rees, epresentshe abode of therespective onga. heprimaryctbeforeettling villages the election f he acred pot ndofferingacrificesto thebonga.f the igns nd omens hroughivinationsrove hat hebongahaveacceptedheofferingsndarepleasedwith he selection f thespot,thevillage s established; therwiseot Skrefsrud; cf.Bodding1940:429-30).In the aher-thanhere houldbe, accordingo traditionalules, hreesarjom sal" trees n a row ssigned oMarang-Buru,aher-ErandMoreko-Turuiko. here hould e anotherree, referablymatkommahua" reeforGosaen-Erand another or Pargana- onga.Thereare thusaltogetherivetreesn the ahergrove elected s seats or abodesfor hedeities. hegrovesusually ituatedn the west endof thevillage. n Kuapara,however,aher-than as been hiftedhrice ince hevillagewas established. heoriginalaher-than, was told,was in a cluster f trees.Thepresentaher-thans situatedamidst he erodedkhoai and about 250 yardsnorth-westrom hevillagesettlementfordescriptionf aher see O'Malley, p. 141; Culshaw 1949:80-81).There reno trees n thepresentaherexcept few hrubs f onetothree eetheight,nderwhich he abodesoftheseaher-bongareestablished.Sometimes,he than seat" for ima-bonga ayalso be providedn the aherbut nKuaparaareatheabodeof ima-bongas located ntheoutskirtsfthevillagewhere hevillage treet nds.WorshipndsacrificeotheaherdeitiesnKuapara sperformedythenaeki, hevillage riest,t thetime fprincipalestivals,amely,rok,ohrae,magh,ndbaha.Traditionally,acrificesothe aherdeitieswere erformedtall thefestivals. he aher grove s notcleanedor ooked fter xcept t thetime fworship. o symbolsremblems replaced nthe aher. t isreportedthat n Bankura reatheSantaltakeregularareof he ahergrove ndplaceearthenffigiesearthe thann HindufashionCulshaw 1949:80). I did notcomeacross ucha practicen Kuapara area. I have learnt hata similarpractices invogue n Malda andDinajpurdistricts fBengal accordingoinformationrovidedyTribalWelfare fficer,istrict irbhum).nKuaparanoflags, lothes,trings,tc., reattached o the trees n aher. n Bankura,stringsretied o the rees ssignedosima-bongautnosuchpracticesfoundin this rea. At thetime f ohrae ndmagh estivals thatched ooth 5' 4'4') is erectedt thesacrificialltar nthe aher.Sometimes bamboo tickis fixedn theground; t is said that thiskeepswatchovertheplaceand iscalled agathakur.t istabooforwomenoenternto heahergrove ecause tisbelievedhat heymay ry o controlhebonga hrough itchcraft.4 Thebotanical ame or al s Shorea obustandformahua assia atifolia oxb.


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244 V. . KOCHAR Anthropos1. 1966The dates orworshipt aher redecidednformallyythe oretmessen-ger"of thevillage.Everyhouse n thevillage s expected o contributeomericefor hesacrificial eal and a small fowlfor acrifice.hesethings recollected ythegoret daybefore heappointed ayfor acrifice.hevillagepriestnaeki)sexpectedo observe ome aboos.He has tosleeponthegroundona mat ndhas to abstain romexual ntercoursenthenight eforeacrifice.On thedayofthe sacrificee takes bathearly nthemorningnd wearsnewlywashedcloth dhuti).He does noteat anythingefore hesacrificialmeal s cooked.For theworship t jaherthe naeki takes somesal leaves,vermilion,cowdung,dwe ricegrains, heat lour,engoisickle-shapednifewith oot-hold)for uttinghefowls, ll put n a winnowingan, nd a metalpotcon-tainingwater. hegoretfthevillage arries owlsobe sacrificednd ricefor

cooking he sacrificial eal in a basket.The naeki s accompanied y somevillageofficialsuchas jog-manjhi, aranik,bhogdarnd kudum-naeki.heaccompanyingersonsarryhe owls ndanimals or acrifice.hevillagersonotaccompanyhe naeki ndhisparty.Theywait for hem n theoutskirtsofthevillage nd makepreparationsor hecooking f the sacrificial eal.Onreachinghe aher-thanhenaeki leans hespotat the foot feachtreewhich sregardeds the abode oftheparticularonga. fterleaninghespotwithhishands nobrooms used)heapplies owdungmixedwithwater,making circularmark f ix nches o one footn diameter. e thenplacessmallflatpieceofstone, bouttwotofour nches quare,within his leanedcircle fterippingt ntowater.Having one his henaeki quats n hegroundin frontf the circlewithhisright egfolded nderhishipsandhis eft egflexedn front f his shoulders. e holds thetengoi nderhis leftfoot.Hemakesa small circlewithwheat flourwithin heplasteredpace and putsvermilionmarkwiththe third ingerfhis righthand on thetree, n thestone, ndwithin he white irclemade withflour. e thenputssomeadwericegrainsnthe circle ndtakes he sacrificialowl.He putsvermilion arkon itshead,rightwing, nd foot nd holds he fowln hiscuppedhands.Hemakes bow andextends iscuppedhandswith he fowl owards he stonepiece.Havingthus bowed to thebongahe holds thefowlnear thecircle othat tshead s ustabove thewhite irclenwhichomericegrains avebeenplaced.He holds hefowln thispositionndmuttershe ncantationillthefowl aseaten ome f he ice lacednthe ircle. fterhis, e cuts heheadofthefowlwith he engoindplaces hehead nto hewhite ircle. imultaneous-lyheholds hetrunk fthefowl bove the circle o that fewdrops fbloodfallupon hericeplaced n t.The trunkf hefowl s handed ver othegoretwhokeeps t n a basket. n the nd, henaekiwashes ishands nd bowswithfolded ands o thebonga. he other ersons resent o notmake nymove-ments nd sitsilently. uttheyointhenaeki nfinal beisance othebonga.Thesame series f actions s repeated gainandagainunder achtree n the

5 Theadwe icegrainsrehuskedwithoutoiling. hisvarietys usedfor itualpurposes.hevariety sedfor ookings usnawhich s partiallyoiledbefore usking.


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VillageDeities of theSantal and Associated Rituals 245jaherandpropitiationsreofferedo all thebonganturn.Theheads of theanimals nd fowls acrificedre collected y the naeki n hiswinnowinganwhile he bodiesof fowls nd animals re kept by other ersons. he sameincantations uttered or achbonga xcept henameof theparticularonga.The ncantations I recordednKuapararuns s followsJohar Jaher-Era] obenokoknj imam "Salute to youthen,Jaher-Era, amgivingkana. Niyegi khusikome. Attumahandare youthisnow. Be pleasedto accept t. In thedukaapa aloyem olok chho orouchhoye. villageno miseryet enter, et come."

There s one exceptiono be noted.One of thesacrificed owls s notbeheaded ompletelyut onlypartially. hisstyleofsacrifices called eba(cf. heword ibah, practicemong heMuslims).n Kuaparathis sreportedtobe donefor aher-Era.nepriest, owever,elated hat t sdoneforMoreko-Taruiko. n Bankura t is done forManjhi-Haramlthough ulshaw notesthat heremaybe a mistakendentity ithMoreko-TuruikoCulshaw 1949:105).Noneofmy nformantsould ssign nymeaningo this pecificreatmentandat no other ccasion hismode ofsacrifices adopted. My guess s thattheterm uruikon the nameMoreko-Turuikohought literallymeans six"mightn somewaybe associatedwith urukMuslim) ndhence hey doptthepeculiarmodeof acrifice. he traditionstatethat herewere omewarsamong heSantal nd Muslim ulersnChampa thepeculiarmode f acrificemayhavesomethingodowith hatperiod f contactwith uruk.The sacrificial eal s prepared ythevillagersn theoutskirtsf thevillage.Proportionsre made and allocated o therespective epresentativesofthehouseholds. he naekitakes forhis share hewhite owl acrificedoGosaen-Erand the red fowl acrificedoMoreko-Turuikondgoret etsonehead.Theycookthesefowls eparatelynd consume hem eparately. hehead of a sacrificedoatora pig s also consumed ythepriest.n Bankuraand elsewhereheheads ofall the sacrificedowls reconsumedythepriest(Culshaw1949 106) but in Kuapara,exceptthosementionedbove,theseare cookedwith herest fthemeal and consumedythemalepopulationfthevillage.As it is apparent rom he above ncantationo aherdeities, he sacri-fices re madebythevillage riest n behalf fthewholevillage. hevillageofficials,speciallyhegoret,lso playan importantole. Othervillagers oerrandobsconnected ith he acrificend thecookingf he acrificial eal.Thenaeki s thus heritualpokesmanorhewhole illage.He alonekeeps hetaboosnecessaryor acrificialurification.The proceduref aherworship aries omewhat t certain ccasions,especiallyt baha, ohrae nd erok estivals.he essentials ftheritual rethesame but theseare accompanied y other eremonial etails and accessoryrites.Atbaha, lowersre also usedforworshipnd booths reerectedt thejaher-than.nother laces laborate ancing rocessionsccompanyhenaeki otheaher-thanhere heroleof differentongare enacted ythe"possessed"individualsrum-bonga)Skrefsrud, p.182-190;Culshaw1949).Purificationrites re alsoperformedeforehe aher acrifices.ut noneof uch laborate


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246 V. . KOCHAR Anthropos1. 1966ceremoniesreperformednKuaparaarea.Atthe ime f he ohrae estivalhejaherworshipsaccompanied yrituals onnected ith attleworshipa ritualsharedwith ome ow astes fBengal Bhowmick,p.49-50)At he ime f henawae estivaln ome reas he proutsfnewpaddy ars reofferedothejaher-bongandtofamilyeities. he festivals no onger erformednKuapara reaalthought usedto be performedhere ometimen thepast.At the time ftheerok estival, hich s a rain-makingitual, pecialofferingsre made toMoreko-Turuikondbahre-bonga.

2. TheJaher eitiesAccordingotheSantaltraditions,heSantal did notworshipnybongainthebeginning;heyworshippednlyThakur. irst hey tartedworshipping

Marang-Buru.ater, t Champa, hetribe doptedMoreko-Turuiko,osaen-Era andJaher-Erand enshrinedhem n the aherthan.t was thenthatunder sal tree heyearnt rom hese ongaheright ayto ive Skrefsrud,p. 10; Campbell).Kolean Guru gave a hierarchyn thefollowingrder:Marang-Buru(whose eal name s Lita),Jaher-Erawhose eal name s Ram-Salgi),Moreko-Turuiko,Gosaen-Era, argana-BongaSkrefsrud, pp. 159-160). enquiredfrom hreepriests fKuapara area the order fprecedencet the timeofactualworshipfthebongan the aher.Therewere omeminor ariationsntheir tatementsut thegroupings ere onsistent.acrificesremade nthefollowingrder:Jaher-Era, osaen-Era,Moreko-Turuiko,argana,Manjhi-Haram,Marang-Burund bahre-bonga.he position fMarang-Burus notdefiniteut it is interestingo note hatMarang-Buru ho scharacterizedntraditionss thehighest eity s not classed n Kuaparawithproperaherdeities nd s nstead lassedwith ahre-bonga.hePargana-ndManjhi-Bongaare personalized eitiesanalogousto counterpartsn tribalorganization;Parganait eing hehead of thePargana, ndManjhi-Harameing he headofthevillage.One nformantlassedMarang-Buru ith hesebonga.Jaher-Era, osaen-Era nd Moreko-Turuikore accorded he higheststatus mongthe villagedeities besidesMarang-Buru). he statementsysomepriestsnd the ctualconduct f ritualsupportmycontentionhat hisprimaryroup fdeities ssomewhat ifferentrom ther illage eities. have,therefore,esignatedhesefour onga s jaherdeitiesn contradistinctionootherminor illagedeities. here resomefamiliesf certain ub-clanskhut)of heSantalwhoworship illage eities s their bge-bonga,utthese amiliesdo notworship ll thevillagedeities;theyoffer acrificenlyto the threeabove mentioned eities. heex-priestf a village elongingo thenaeki-khilsub-clan ffersacrificeso the threeaherdeities n hisbhitrit thetimeofbaha andnawaefestivalsKochar 19656:63).MARANG-BURU:The position fMarang-Burun the Santalpantheons an importantone,but hisexactplace nthehierarchys,atthe ame ime, otclear nough.


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Village eities f heSantal nd Associated ituals 247SinceMarang-Burus accorded ibations nd sacrificesn various ccasionsconnectedwithvarious evels of social existence, amely, he individual,family,lan, ommunity,ndthe ribe,he tatus fMarang-Burunthe antalpantheons somewhatndependentfhisplacementntheaher roup fbonga.This s one ofthefewbonga ftheSantal who have a mythical ackground.Someauthors ave assigned highplacetoMarang-Buru,extonly o thecreatorThakurCulshaw 1949:109; O'Malley, p. 146). Kolean assignedthethird lacetoMarang-BuruSkrefsrud,p. 159).Whenever Santal its odrink ice-beerhandi) e,first f ll,sprinklesa few rops fhandi s an offeringo his ancestors nd toMarang-Buru.hisact s associatedwith heirmyth forigin.When hefirstairofhuman eingswaswanderingimlesslyn the surfacef theearth,Marang-Buru ppearedbeforehem ndintroducedimselfs their randfather.e taught hefirsthuman air,Pilchu-HaramndPilchu-Budhi,o cultivate,o dance, ohuntand to brew rice-beerCampbell, pp. 18-20).Amongthe Santal, jokingrelationshipxistsbetween he grandparentsnd grandchildren,nd it isone ofthemost ffectionateelationships.arang-Burus a grandfatherndguardian f thefirst umanpair s regardeds a "goodoldfellow" ndpre-sumed o be a benevolenteity.Marang-Burusnever evealednthedivina-tions s theoriginatorfevils.Anothermythnarrates owtheworship fMarang-Buru as startedbytheSantal. t is saidthat nce hetribe ost tsway n course f tswander-ings, urroundedn all sidesby a mountain. heyfailed o find heirwaybecause, s they ay, he"bigmountain" bstructedheir atheach time heymade an attemptocross hevalley.Findingno wayoutthe tribe romisedtoworshiphe pirit esidingnthe bigmountain"nd called tMarang-Buru"thebighill".Subsequentlyhetribefoundtswayout,and sincethen hetribe askept tspromiseyworshippinghebongacf.Bodding1926:67).In anothermythMarang-Burus portrayeds thechief fall the evilspiritsn theworld.t is saidthatoriginallyllthebongawere hemessengers{goret)f thehighgodThakur.Theyusedto workaccording o his orders.Marang-Buru as thebonganwhomThakur onfidedmost.However,herewas some ussle fpower etweenhebongandThakur. heformer,t ssaid,demanded reateruthority.hakur ecameangry nd threw ll thebongafrom he kydown ntheearth. hebonga ellhere ndthere someontrees,some nto ivers,ome nhills, nd so on.Marang-Buruell na bigmountain.He became he eaderof all the bongaon earth. Underhis authorityhebonga avebeen,fromimemmemorial,bstructinghedeedsofThakurndobstructinghenormal ourse fhumanife Bodding1926:68).The threemythicaleferenceso theMarang-Buru-Bongaiven bovereveal hree ifferentharacterizationsfMarang-Buru. nereveals hebongaas an affectionatendbenevolentrandfatherhotaught hem hetruewayof ife;thesecond eveals hebonga s oneto whom hetribe s boundwithgratitudeor peningheir ath, ndthe third eveals hebonga s thechiefof ll theevil piritswhoobstructhe acts ofhighgodand nstigatemen ntobondage oevilforces.


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248 V. . KOCHAR Anthropos1. 1966Offeringsndworship orMarang-Burure made n the aher-thanythevillagepriest n behalf f the wholevillage.Marang-Burus one of thefiveprincipal eities fthe Santal.Offeringso Marang-Burure alsomadeat thetime fbhitri orship ythefamilies. lthough o sacrificesmade nbhitri orshipsn Kuapara village o Marang-Buru longwithother amilydeities,uch acrificesoMarang-Buru ere fferednthepastat thetime fthesohrae estivalSkrefsrud,p. 172). Libations oMarang-Burure madewheneverhe Santal drinkrice-beer. his is the onlydeitywho receiveslibations yeveryndividual; ll other eities re offeredibations n behalfofa group.Marang-Burus also associatedwithhapramancestors). t thetime fumul derbringingn the hadow) eremonyncourse f funeralites,twopersons ecome ossessed,nebythedeceasedndividualnd theother yMarang-Buru.hepossessedpirits,alledrumbonga,rewelcomed ormally

bythepersonsnd areofferedibations fwater nd rice-beer.he spirit fthedeceased ne s then equestedotell hereason or tsdeparture. ssocia-tion fMarang-Buru ith he pirit f hedeceased ne, s dramatizedn theoccasion,s an evidence f he ffinityf hebonga ith he ncestors hich asits anctionn theoriginmyths being hegrandfatherf hefirstuman air.Thedifferentomponentsfthe ndividualityfMarang-Burus proba-blydueto thefact hat ntheworshipfMarang-Buru ehavemore han neassociationndmeaning uperimposedn the other.Worship fMarang-Buru,othas a family eity nd as a jaherdeityneeds omeexplanations. aher eities re the deities f thevillage nd tribeas a wholebut thefamily eities elong o therespectiveamilieslone.Theconcept fownershipfthedeity, r rather heconcept fvalidity f theworship f a deityfor particular roup, s markedn the Santal rituals.Everydeity s ritually ssociatedwith definiteroup.Group ffiliationfMarang-Burus,however, otclear.AmongheBirhor, arang-Burus a familyod"amongstome amilies"(Roy1925a:313). Buru-bongar the piritsfthehills ngeneralreacquiredas orak-bongamong ertain lans mong heBirhor. These rethe piritsfthe differentillsreputed o haveformedheoriginal omes f the differentBirhor lans" Roy 1925a:300).Totemicymbolsre also usedon these cca-sionsofclan sacrificesRoy 1925:165-66).Thesepractices mong hismostbackward ribe f the Mundagroupperhaps how hat ntheearly tages ftheirwanderingsheMundatribes cquiredburu-bongahillbonga) s clandeities. he Santalas a whole, orming section f theoriginal harwar rMundaric eople, probably omparised single lan or subtriben remotepast.Roy hasconjecturedhatMarang-Burumong heMunda s the ccumu-lated totemicymbol f the differentlansresidingn a localized egion.Atthis tage",Roy writes,theBuru-Bongarclangodsof the differentlanssettledwithinn area of everalmiles ppear ohavemergedntohigh odorgeneral eity alledbytheMunda,Marang-bongarMarang um" Roy1925&173). Among he Mundaand Santal,Marang-Burus a high god. Mundamyths escribehisbonga s the elderbrotherfSing- onga, he atter eingidentified ith upreme eingThakur.AmongHo, Marang-Burus a minor


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Village eities f heSantal nd Associated ituals 249clan deity Majumdar1950:258). AmongBirhor,Marang-Buru r buru-bonga re reckoned s orak-bongaRoy 1925a 300) Among he Munda ofTamariaregion, s reported y Roy,the buru-bongare reckoned s killi-bonga rclangods Roy 19250:173).In this ight hehypothesisfcorrelation etweenMarang-Burundthe clan groups s suggestivenough.The clan groupcuts acrossfamilial,communitynd the tribalrelationships.he propitiationfMarang-Buruamong heSantal t thethree evels lso ndicatesnthisdirection.MOREKO-TURUIKO:

Moreko-Turuikos actuallynot onebonga ut a groupofbonga fivebrothersndsixsisters, amed ollectivelys Moreko-Turuiko,iterally,five-six". The "Five and Six" are somewhatoose-temperedongan whom heSantaltakemore hancasual interestn comparisono otheraherdeities.Sometimes,omefamiliesn thevillage erformacrificesnd ibations nthehonour fMorekothe bridged ame of thebonga)ntheir hitrit thetimeof erok nd baha festivals. heyinvitetheir gnatickin speciallyfortheoccasion.t is reportedhat nsomeplacesan occasional estival as held nthe honour f thebonga; henameof the festival eingmakmoreBodding1935 212-13) No evidence f suchpracticewas, however, vailablefromKuapara rea.Morekosofferedacrificet alltheaherworships.n Kuapara,a fowl acrificedo Morekos eatenonlyby thevillagepriest. ndividualsacrificesoMoreko regenerally adeonly ythose amilies hichmake uchpromiser oathat the time f llness.The decisions takenonthe advice oftheojhawho declares henecessityf sucha sacrificefterhis divinationsaboutthe cause of diseaseor distress. ometimeshewholevillage ointlyoffersollectiveacrificeo theMoreko t thetimeofan epidemic r cattledisease.This was done n all thevillagesn thisarea in 1959when cattleepidemicpreadn thearea. t maybe noted hatMoreko-Turuikos theonlyjaherdeitywhichs revealednthedivinationsf heojha nd held s the auseofpersonal r general risis.The specialfearof the bonga nd the specialtreatmentccordedo t sduetothis eason.The "Five andSix" aretreated s a single onga rdeity ndonlyonesacrifices madeto them.The fowl acrificedoMorekos notbeheaded om-pletely utpartially. ctualnames f he Fiveand Six"bongare notknown.A group ffivemaleandsixfemale onga roupedogethernddesignatedya single ame s an interestinghenomenonn theSantalpantheon. endencytogroup imilar eitiesndtoassign hem ommonppellations a concurrentphenomenonn the Santalreligion. lthoughhey revaguely onceived obe a group fbonga,heactualritualbehaviournd emotional esponsesremade s if hegroup epresentssingle onga. his nvolvesbstractionowardscollective ersonificationf the atomisticndividualitiesf bonga. havenoted hesamefactwithrespect o orak-bonga,bge-bongandpatta-bongaelsewhereKochar 19656).From heir eneral tatementsboutMoreko,myinformantsonveyed he mpressionhatthe "Five and Six" are a kindof


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250 V. . KOCHAR Anthropos1. 1966bahre-bongaf ome ncient abitat ftheSantal.Thebongare attributedohave control ver ains, rops ndepidemics.hebaha ongs iven yKoleanclearly ssociatedMoreko-Turuikoith rains and welfare f the country(Skrefsrud, p. 187f.).JAHER-ERA:The individualitiesfJaher-Erand Gosaen-Erare morevague.TheSantaldidnot orthey ouldnot?)seemto knowmuch bout thesefemaledeities f aher.Jaher-Eraresides ver he ahergrove, ends heother ongain the aher-thannd looksafter he nterest f thevillagers.n myths erproper ame s given s Ram-Salgiwhich ssociates erwith he HindudeityRam. Whether his ssociation efers o a mere uperimpositionrderivationis difficulto say. She is considereds "goodold lady n charge f the ahergrove".At the ime fbahafestival,t sreportedrom therreas, hree oungmenbecome ossessed,nebyJaher-Era,nd theother wobyMarang-Buruand Moreko-Turuiko.he possessedndividuals ressthemselvesn specificwayanddramatize ifferentctivities. he dramatizationeflectshe SantaFsnotions bout these deities suchdramatizationt the time of baha s notpractised ow nKuaparaarea). Themanrepresentingaher-BudirJaher-Era is dressedike an old ady."She" takes broom nda basket ndsweepsthe ahergrove.At another tageofdramatization,aher-Budi ashesthefeet fthe naeki ndother ersons Skrefsrud,p. 183).She thus ppears obe themosthumble f ll aherdeities. he s notattributedny pecialpowerand couldnotfindny uch ndicationnthe iteratureither. he snotheldresponsibleor isease rwelfare. errole ppears o be ike hatof caretaker.GOSAEN-ERA:

Still less can be said about Gosaen-Era.n Kuapara, she is vaguelyassociated s thewife fGosaen r Thakur the upreme odof heSantal.AsreportedyKolean, atthe ime fbaha estivalwobooths sed o be erectedoneforMoreko, aher-ErandMarang-Buru,nd theother orGosaen-Era.At thetime fdramatizationfbonga, opersons possessed ythespirit fGosaen-Era. tthe ime f ll aherworshipswhite owlssacrificedo Gosaen-Era. The head of thisfowl s cookedwith ice and eatenbynaekionly.Thebaha festival ppears o be vaguely onnected ithGosaen-EralthoughheSantaldonotappear o be awareofanysuchexplicit onnection.There s strikingimilarityetweenhedescriptionf thebaha festivalas givenby Kolean, and the worship f "earthgoddessor the spiritofvegetation"t thetime fspring estival bservedmong hetribes fChota-nagpur s describedy S. C. Roy. Whenflowersnd newvegetationsproutup,thegoddess fthe sacredgrove f thevillagewas "ceremonially arriedto the ungod, hevillage riest cting s theproxy fthe atter ndhiswifeof heformer.. Onthedayof nnualKhaddiorSarhul estivalhe sconductedin processionn herwinnowingasketfromhevillage riest's ouseto thesacred rove" Roy1928:69).


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Village eities f heSantal nd Associated ituals 251The ceremoniesbservednKuaparaandadjoining illages t thetimeofthebaha festival re not so elaborate s described orSantal living nSantal parganas Skrefsrud, pp. 182-190)and Bankura (Culshaw 1949:103-110) as such,manypoints re concealed r shadowed nmyowndata.Manyfeatures f this festival re in a wayhighly xceptionaln thesensethatnothingike hese akesplace nanyof he eremoniesrrituals onnectedwith hebongaTakinghepriesto the aher rovena dancing rocession,hepossessionf hreemen y heaherdeities,ndtheir irect articipationndan-cing ndritual,mportanceccorded o thepriestndhiswife, orshipf lowersintheaher-than,ashingf henaeki's eet yJaher-Era,tayof thenaeki ntheaher ll alone ill vening hen e sbroughtack othevillagena dancingprocession,heconsumptionfthe acrificial ealbythenaeki'swifen aher,and finallyhehonouringf the naeki n eachhouseofthevillage nd thedistributionf he Vaterof uck"broughtromaher.The whole rocedures,as I seeit,verymuchdifferentromhe Santalconceptndpractice fbongaworship,t homeor in the aher.Mostofthesefeatures,n the otherhand,reminds of heflowerestivalr pringestivalf ome ribes fChotanagpuras describedyRoy.In the absenceof any myths, ny director indirect eferenceo, orassociationwiththe fertilityoncept, nd in the absence of any coherentexplanationfthesepractices y the Santal themselves, e are unable toassign definitemeaning o theceremoniesutlined bove. But the wholeseries fevents, therwisenexplained,ecomesmeaningfulhenviewed n

the ontextfRoy'saboveexplanation. mongheSantal,however,herolesofJaher-Erand Gosaen-Era ave gotmixedup. Roy connects hesecere-monieswith he"goddess fthe aher". have noted bovethatamong heSantaltheprincipaluardian eity fthe aher sJaher-Erand her tatus sthatof a humble ld lady.Her rolethroughhepossessedndividualt thetime f baha s inconsistentith hehigh tatusoffertilityoddessn whosehonour hebahaceremoniesre performed.oy's explanationf theflowerfestival s beingthemarriage fthedeitywith hesun-god,uggests hatGosaen-Eras thecorrespondingeity mong he Santal.Gosaen-Erand notJaher-Eras regardeds thewife fGosaen, hehighgod of the Santal.Aseparate oothusedto be erected orGosaen-Erat the time f bahafestivalinthedaysofKolean and thefowl acrificedoGosaen-Erat thetime f lljaherworshipss consumedythepriest imself.hesebitsof videnceuggestthatthedeitywhichmaybe connected ith herole offertilityoddess, ssuggestedyRoy'sexplanation,s Gosaen-Erand notJaher-Era.utamongtheSantal,Gosaen-Erasnot conceivedo be the"goddess fthe aher" it isJaher-Era ho s conceived o be theguardian eity fthe aher.While heSantalhave moredefinitedeas aboutJaher-Erahey eem to know ittleaboutGosaen-Era. aher-Eras somewhatlosely ssociatedwith hevillagecommunity. othJaher-Era nd Gosaen-Era re regarded s benevolentdeities.


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252 V. . KOCHAR Anthropos1. 1966

3. OtherVillageDeitiesThe aherdeities escribed bove are common or hewhole antaltribealthoughheworshipt aher s validfor particular illage nly.There reother illagedeitieswho are collectively ropitiatedn behalf f the wholevillagebut the ndividualityfthesebongas implicitlyifferentndifferentvillages.

MANJHI-HARAM-BONGAManjhi-Haram-Bongas regardeds the pirit ftheoriginalounderfthevillage.The statementsiven ysomeofmy nformantseemed oimply

thatthisbonga tandsfor hespirits fall thevillageheadmentartingromthe founder eadman o thepresentliveheadman.A coupleof decades gothemanjhi-thanas situated earthehouseof theoriginal oundereadmanofthevillageKuapara.Now t is situated ear hehouseofthepresent ead-man. Themanjhi-thanfKuapara is a mudplatformbout six incheshigh,three eetbroad and four eet ong.There s no structuren or around t asperhaps oundn other reas O'Malley, p. 141). There s ampleopen spacearound he than.Villagemeetings,ancesand gamesare generally eld nthisopen space.At the timeofmarriageheoutgoingnd incoming artieshave to pay obeisance t themanjhi-than.acrifices re performedt themanjhi-thanythe headman nlyon theoccasion fprincipal estivals. hesacrificialnimal s provided yhim lone.Thehead of the sacrificednimalis consumed ytheheadman nd the restof the meat can be soldoff othevillagers.n facthe is expected o invite illage lders ormeat and rice-beerat hisownexpense.An unmarriedirlfrom heheadman's ousecleans ndplasters he thanbefore he sacrificesre offered. o clay effigiesr stoneemblemsre keptat the than n Kuapara; this eemsto be thepracticenBankura nd MurshidabadCulshaw 1949 82 and personal ommunicationfrom . W. 0.)Sacrificesytheheadman t themanjhi-thanreregardeds hispersonalduty.The spirits ftheearlier eadmen f thevillage rea kindoftutelaryspiritsor hepresent eadman.He derives alidation fhisofficendauthorityfrom heritual ommunicatione maintainswithhis deceasedpredecessors.Sacrificeso Manjhi-Haram-Bongare also offeredythe naeki t thetime f aherworships.ome nformantslluded t tobeworshipf thebongaof hemanjhi-haramimplyinghe liveonetoo) Avague piritualounterpartis attributedo theheadman ythevillage eople.Thiswas,however,eniedbytheheadmanhimself. here s no other nstancen Santalreligionf theworshipf he pirit f living ersont an altar.Accordingo Santalreligiousconcepts person annotbecome bonga nless rematedwithfullhonours.Thebongasregardedo be speciallyonnected ith illagewelfare.t isa benevolentonga nd seldom evealedndivinationsytheojhaas a causeofsomegeneral istress. hebongas alsodeemed esponsibleor hewelfare


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Village eities ftheSantal nd Associated ituals 253oftheheadman ndhisfamily. n suchdivinationshesacrifices offeredothebonga ytheheadman. ny onspicuouseglect ytheheadman nmakingsacrificest themanjhi-thans notedby thevillagerswith oncern nd thevillage ouncilmaybe moved opress heheadman or his.PARGANA-BONGA:

The Pargana-Bonga as special ignificanceor he Santalbecause thebongasregardeds thehead ofthewitchesas a kind ftutelary uardian fall thewitches.t is said thatwitchesworship he Pargana-Bongao gettrainingndproficiencyn the art ofwitchcraft.hewitches ave to invokePargana-Bongand takehis permissionnd wellwishings ortheir ctualmissions.t is said that n theirnightmeetingshe witches ringPargana-Bongadressed ike a king.The Pargana-Bongas easilysusceptibleo theenticementsfthewitches. he bonga ssists hem n theirmisadventures.Pargana-Bongaas, t ssaid, nfluencever heminortray ongaf heregionand can direct hem gainsthumanbeings t therequestof witches. hePargana-Bongassupposedo residenthefuneralroundf hevillagewherethewitches enerally old theirmeetings. acrificeso Pargana-Bongaremade n the aher-thant thetime fprincipalaherrituals ut thesacrificialritualsperformedythe ssistant riest udum-naeki.t thetime fgeneralillness,rwhen heres some roublenthevillage n account fwitches,heojhamayoffermagical acrificeo thePargana-Bonga. hemodusoperandiandthepersonnelnvolvedn thepropitiationfPargana-Bongat or outsidetheaher sdifferentromhat dopted or heaherdeities ythevillage riest.The roleofPargana-Bongaas apparentlyothingodo with he officeof heparganait. parganaits the uraiand socialhead of he dministrativeunit argana.He actsas thehead ofthe nter-villageouncil fheadmenndgenerallyeals nter-villageisputesr ome utstandingnter-villageatters.It appears omethatnomenclatorialimilarityf hebongawith heparticularofficencumbentnpolitical rganizations only n analogy.The bonga oesnot epresenthe piritf ny arganaits is the ase ofManjhi-Haram-Bonga.Perhaps hebongas named o because t holds thesame status mong hestrayminor onga ftheregion s doestheparganait verthepeople n thepargana.But no suchsuggestion as availablefromhe SantalofKuapara.SIMA-BONGA:

Sima-bongare thebonga f theoutskirtr villageboundary nd areworshippedy theassistant riest alledkudum-naekit definiteccasions.The acrificesremadeonbehalf f hewhole illage. ima-bongareregardedas very uriousonga. ometimesefiniterees remarked or he ima-bongaat theend of thevillage treetwhere hesacrificesregiven o them. t isreportedhat n Bankura pecificrees ssigned o the ima-bongaremarkedwith hreads t thetimeoffestivalsCulshaw 1949 80) but this s notthepracticenKuapara. Sima-bongare a group fbonga nd constitute cate-


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254 V. . KOCHAR Anthropos1. 1966gory ythemselves. here re three uchbonganKuaparabut wasunabletogettheproper amesofthem.Thebongare treated s a single ntityndcollectiveacrificesgiven o them. fthebongarerevealedntheoil divina-tions s a source f trouble or family r the wholevillage, herespectivegroup ffersacrificeso thesima-bongahroughheojha.This ritual s morecomplicatedhan heritual erformedykudum-naekit scheduled ccasions.Sima-bongare consideredo furious hat theyare propitiated ithhumanblood.Themodeofsacrifice,alledbul-mayam,s differentrom hatfollowedynaeki.Kudum-naekioesalone at thespotandsecretly erformsthe ritual. un-dried ice s placedon a sal leafandputbefore heparticulartreeor shrubwithproperncantationso thebonga resumablyn behalf fthewhole illage.Kudum-naekihenpricks isthighs,rms nd, fnecessary,chestwith horn. e drops isownbloodon thericegrains lacedon a sal leafuntil herice s soakedwith lood.Each time he ame ncantationsuttered.BAHRE-BONGA:

Bahre-bongare thebonga f the outskirtsivingn the reasurroundingthevillage. avourite bodesofbahre-bongarepools, itches,treams,onds,a deserted ouse r and orgrove rtree, ree tumps,ldfuneralites,holesintheground, illocks,its,mounds,tc. Each bongas known ythe pecificname and sex. Somebonga re specificallynown o be morefurious. heabodesofthesebonga, hich re known ythevillagersre avoided. omeofthemreknownytheirpecificredispositionowardspecificuman ctions-a knowledge hich s shared yall thevillagersncludingemales. hesebongaare similar n character o bhut-bongaghosts".There s, however,ssentialdifferenceetween he two.There reabouttwentyuchbahre-bongaivingntheareaaroundKua-para. Knowledge bout thesebongas sharedby theadjoining illageswhoshare hehabitat.The distant illages ave differentonga living"n"their"area. The KuaparaSantaldo notrecognizehesedistant ahre-bongahoughtheymaybe aware of them.This s reflectedn a kudum-naekis statement,"there re bonga earrailwayine but we do not name them at the timeofsacrifice)".A collectiveacrifices offeredo thesebonga ythenaeki nKuaparaatthe time f aherworship. t the time fer k festival acrificesreofferedoimportantahre-bongayname.Themode f acrifices similar othat doptedbythenaekifor theraherdeities. he bodiesof thesefowls re ncludednthe acrificial eal longwith ther owls acrificedo theaherdeities.In some nstances hebahre-bongaaybe revealednthe divinationsscause ofsome distress r disease. n that case sacrifices offeredy ojhaonbehalf fthepatient.


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Village eities f heSantal nd Associated ituals 2554. Nature ofVillageDeities

Santal haveveryvaguenotions boutthecharacternd functionfthedifferentillagedeities.We are reminded f Risley's remark bout thesedeities: All overChotaNagpur,we find acredgroves, heabode ofequallyindeterminatehings, hoarerepresentedynosymbols,f whose ormndfunctiono onecangive n intelligentccount"Risley, p. 352).Theremark,in a way, s correct,utat the sametime, s I haveshown,t is possible oarrive t some deaaboutthecharacterndfunctionfthesedeities ufficientenougho differentiateetween hem. t should nhibit s from asty onclu-sion f he ypeRisley has arrived t. There redefinitendividualttributes,however ague, ssociatedwith achdeity.Thesenotions ave to bebuiltuponthebasisof heir ehaviourt thetime f ctualperformanceftheritualsconnected ith he deities. heinabilityftheSantal to spellout, npreciseterms nd concepts,heexact nature nd function f theirdeitiesdoesnotmeanthattheydo not differentiateetween hedifferentonga. onclusionsbaseduponmerelyerbal esponsesmaybeverymisleadingnsuch nstances.AmongBirhor,Roy has noted, hevillagecollectivelycquires omebonga ustas familiescquirenewbonga Roy 1925


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256 V. . KOCHAR Anthropos1. 1966worships,he associated estivityt someoccasions, heconsumptionf thesacrificial eal, herepresentationf thegroup ya selected fficiantor heworships all these resymbolsfcommunitydentity.The sacrificeso the aher-bongareperformedythevillagepriest nbehalf f hewhole illage. he selectionf hepriests madeostensiblyythebonga hemselves hopossess n individualndexpressheir hoice hroughhim.Everyvillagehas a jaher-thanndno twovillages hare he same thandespite hefact hedeities rethesame.The association f a villagewithjaher xpressesheritual nity f hegroup.t is,among heSantal, nimpor-tant criterion or ascertaining ommunitymembershipnd communityboundary. have comeacross omevillageswherethere s apparently ospatialdistance etween he hamlets utthe whole ettlements dividedntwoor moreritualgroupswithclear-cut emarcationfmembership.heritualunitmaintains ome amount fpolitical nd socialunity s well.ThevillageKaligonjo, or xample, nsight ppears obe a hamlet f thevillageKuapara.There s no marked patialdistance etween hetwosettlements.But the two settlementsonstitutewoseparate ommunitiesythecriteriaofritual, oliticalndsocial egregation.n Kalitola, village bout womilesfromBolpur, foundwithin he same cluster f housesas manyas threedistinct ocio-ritualroupings ith eparate aher-thannd separatepriests.The three ections f thevillage ommunity,n fact, riginallyelonged othree ifferentillageswhich ave beenbroughtogetherue to floodsn theiroriginalhabitat. The three eparateclustershave maintained heirritualidentitylthoughpatially, conomicallyndsocially hese epresent singlevillage ommunity.The aher sestablishedy heoriginalettlersfterarefulivinationcf.Bodding 1940:429-30).The aher-bongareeverywherehesame butdue totheironstantssociation ith particularillage,heaher-bongaf very illageare mplicitlyttributedistinctivenessromhe amebonganthe acred rovesof ther illages. he aher-bongafonevillage re notworshippedythemem-bersof another illage.What mattersmore s ritual ssociationfthe wholevillage, ole fvillage fficials,nparticularhatof hevillage riest,nd ointsacrificendconsumptionfthesacrificial eal. Thegroup foriginalettlersresponsibleor he stablishmentfaher-thanssociatestselfmore losely iththeaher. fone ormore amilies ove rom nevillage oanother,hey cquirerelationshipith newaher, ut f hegroup foriginalettlersmoves n-blocto someother lace theygenerallystablish heir wnaherdeitiesn thenewhabitat.There s, however, o idea or actprevalentmong hem uggestingphysical carryingway"thebongawith hem s is found mong heBirhor(Roy1925a 295).The aher-bongare he ame llover he antal ribe utthejaher-bongafno twovillagesrethe ame n terms f itualdentitynd ritualvalidity or hegroup.Relationship ithbonga s a symbol f societal tatusis discussed lsewhereKochar 19646).Thevillagedeities, ssociated ituals ndceremonialshus ymbolizeswell as dramatize ommunityondsand internal ifferentiationithin hecommunity.


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Village eities ftheSantal ndAssociated ituals 257

BibliographyBhowmick. K.,1957: TheBandanaFestival fMidnapore. an in India37,pp.49-53.BoddingP. O.,1925: StudiesnSantalMedicinendConnectedolklore, art , pp.1-132:TheSantals ndDisease. Memoirsf heAsiatic ocietyfBengal, 0.)Calcutta.1926: Meaning f theWord Buru and Bongo n Santali.Journal fBiharandOrissaResearchocietyPatna)12,pp.63-77.1935 A SantaliDictionary.ol.4. Oslo.1940: StudiesnSantalMedicine nd Connectedolklore, art II, pp.427-502:How Santals ive. Memoirsf heAsiatic ociety fBengal, 0.)Calcutta.Campbell.,1916: The TraditionftheSantals.Journal fBihar nd OrissaResearchociety(Patna)2,pp.15-19.CULSHAWW. J.,1939: SomeNotesonBongaism. ournal f heAsiatic ocietyfBengal Calcut-ta) 5,pp.427-432.1949: TheTribalHeritage.ondon.Koch r V. ,1964:Profilef TribalVillage.Vanyajati2,pp.80-95.1964:Attributesf Societal tatusamong he Santals.Bulletin ftheCulturalResearchnstituteW. Bengal) ,pp.20-29.1965a:NuclearUnits ntheDomestic-Groupsf a SantalVillage. asternAnthro-pologistLucknow)8,pp.12-21.19656 FamilypiritsndDeitiesmonghe antals ndAssociatedituals. ournalof heAsiatic ociety. 1963, p.59-72.MajumdarD. N.,(1942) Bongaism.n:Mills J.P. etal., edit.], ssays nAnthropologyresentedoS. C. Roy.Lucknow,p.60-79.1950 The Affairsf Tribe. ucknow.O'MalleyL. S. S.,21938: District azetter:antalParganas. atna.RisleyH. H.,1903: Census f ndia,Report. ol.1,Part1 (1901).Calcutta.RoyS. C,1925a:The Birhors. anchi.19256:TotemismndReligion. ournal fBihar and OrissaResearchociety1,pp.162-176.1928: Primitive eligionnChotanagpur.ournal fBihar and OrissaResearchSociety4,pp.65-74.Skrefsrud . C. [edit.],1887: Horkoren arehapramkoeakKatha in Santali].Banagoria. Lucknow61958.The atterourcesusedhere.]

Anthropos1. 1966 17

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